The Ring of Power
by your knight in tinfoil armor
Summary: Pendragon and the rest of the Travelers thought that their job was done. They were wrong. The battle for Halla isn't over. After the events on Third Earth, the universe changed. There are more worlds now. The first one is Middle Earth.  more inside
1. Journal 1: 1 of 4

**Title: **The Ring of Power

**Category:** Pendragon and Lord of the Rings

**Pairing: **none, at the moment

**Rating: **T overall, but most chapters will be about PG-13 or so.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for all of the Pendragon series and probably most of the Lord of the Rings series as well. There might be violence in some parts, and it'll probably be somewhat graphic. I'll try to warn for it on a chapter basis, though.

**Summary: **_Pendragon and the rest of the Travelers thought that their hob was done. They were wrong. The battle for Halla isn't over. After the events on Third Earth, the universe changed. It couldn't go back to the way it was, and so instead it expanded. There are more territories now than ever, and all of them are heading toward their turning points. In response, the Travelers have changed as well, and are headed for the first of the new territories, Middle Earth._

**Disclaimer: **I really don't own any of this. I wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes: **I don't know where this came from, besides the fact that I'm reading the Pendragon series and watching the Lord of the Rings and somehow it got mixed up in my dreams. Oops. Well, I'll run with it and see how far it takes me. Also, this totally ignores the final chapter of Soldiers of Halla, and takes some liberties for the rest of the series. Anyway, here's the first part.

JOURNAL #1

**MIDDLE EARTH**

Sorry, Mark, Courtney. It looks like I've gotten myself into it again.

First of all, let me apologize for the mess this journal is. I didn't exactly have paper or pens or anything like that, so I had to make do with what I could find. And what I could find wasn't that great. Also, there really isn't much light in this place. Make that, there's pretty much no light here. At all. But before I tell you about 'here' let me tell you about how I got here, and the changes I went through getting here (those things are more exciting, anyway. Trust me).

I know that we all thought that things were over, and that we'd finally gotten the chance to settle down and live the lives we _should_ have lived (but, you know, through all the rebuilding and war stopping and world re-separating), but it looks like that isn't how it's meant to be.

At least, not for me or the other Travelers. I still hold out hope that neither of your guys will be pulled back into this. You've already done more than anyone expected of you, and you've already sacrificed so much- I couldn't ask anymore of you. I know you guys, though, and that you'd do anything I could ask of you, and that you'll try to help me, no matter what I say. But it's okay. You guys have done enough, and now you've got jobs of your own. You've got to rebuild Halla (at least, the original one, and more on that in a minute), and I know that you two are the best for the job. Actually, I'm only sending you guys these journals so that you don't worry.

And you shouldn't worry, because I'm not here on my own.

The good news is, the other Travelers are here too.

The bad news is, they also kind of aren't.

It's confusing, I know. It was confusing to me, too. I guess the best way I can explain it is to say that now the rest of them are even more like spirits than they were before. I can see and hear them, and they can see and hear each other (and me!), but as far as I can tell other people (and animals… or, things… I don't really know what they are, exactly) can't see them. At least, none of the people/things/living beings I've met so far have, but I haven't exactly been attending galas here, so I don't know if that holds true for everyone and everything here.

Mostly, the nine of look the same as when we last saw them- only, somewhat transparent. And yeah, I said nine. Uncle Press isn't here, and neither is Elli- Nevva is instead.

Yeah, Nevva.

I know that we were pretty much certain that she was dead and gone, like, totally. But- and this is only as far as I can understand it, which really isn't much- apparently the good deeds she'd done at the end of her life had qualified her to return to the lighter side of Solara, and allowed her to be reborn again when Saint Dane was defeated and Solara was rejuvenated. Or something.

And yeah, as you've probably figured out by now, Mark, Courtney, us Traveler's have gotten or powers back. Not that we're suddenly all powerful or anything- Solara is still recovering, and with this new stuff that's going on, it's especially important that we be careful about how we use the powers we have. Anyway, we've gone back to being the spirits we always were, long before we knew it. But things aren't all back to how they were.

I'm different now. And not only on the inside. I'm fourteen again, guys. At least, near as I can figure. I'm not sure why, but maybe it makes me look less threatening? But I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually- it's not like I'm in some sort of messed up fiction where everything that happens is just at the whim of some kind of insane author.

Anyway, I don't exactly look as I did when I was fourteen. For one thing, my eyes are no longer brown, apparently. The others tell me that they've turned an incredibly light blue that looks eerily like Saint Dane's (I really hope that there's nothing behind that). I have to take their word for it, though, because I haven't really been able to get a glimpse of myself since I got down here.

For another thing, my entire body (though I'm not sure it's entirely mine anymore) seems to have become a combination of all the Traveler's bodies, (though it has mostly remained my own). It's not freaky looking or anything, either. At least, I don't think. Again, there isn't a lot of light here.

Most of the changes can probably be contributed to Kasha, most likely because she's the most different from the rest of us, seeing as she's a klee, or giant cat. One thing that's all her is that my arms are a little longer, which makes it easier to go around on all four feet (which I actually do sometimes, without even realizing it- it kind of freaks me out). Also I'm a lot more flexible than I've even been before, which is totally Kasha, unless one of the others isn't telling me something. The skin on my feet, palms, and finger tips is also a lot tougher, which isn't so bad, and also kind of lucky, since I don't have any shoes, and the ground in this place really sucks. Though it was kind of weird getting used to using the skin between the tips of my fingers and my palms to feel things, as the toughened skin everywhere else on my hands deadens feelings. Another thing I'm sure Kasha's at fault for is the fact that my nails and teeth have lengthened, sharpened, and become a lot more durable (but I don't actually mind that change so much, except for when I forget about it and end up cutting myself accidentally).

Unfortunately, I didn't get any of Alder's build, and I actually seem to be skinnier than when I was last fourteen. And a bit shorter, too. I blame those on Siry and Aja, tiny little reeds that they are. Though I suppose that considering where I am now, it's better to be smaller and thin. It's a lot easier to hide, that way, especially quickly, and boy do I need that ability now. But more on that later, I promise. Let's get back to my changes.

One thing I've still got and that I've taken from the others is scars. One for each traveler, and one for each territory. I'll actually describe them for you now, and give you the stories behind them, as they were told to me.

The small, straight scar on my right hip used to be Alder's, from where he fell from his horse when he was young. He broke his hip and they had to cut into him to set the bone. Te multitude of small scars on the back of my neck, however, are my own, something I gained when I walked through the hailstorm on Denduron to reach the flume.

The deep gash on the bottom of my left foot is from Spader. It was created when he was thrown from a spinny fish during his first attempt at spinny-do and ended up landing on a sharp piece of glass. But the small, shallow grove on my right shoulder is mine. It's where one of the bullets that once killed Uncle Press on grazed me on Cloral.

Gunny's scar is obvious, as it's a faint trail of scars that encircle my left wrist, a reminder of the hand he once lost to a Tang. The slash low on my ribs is all me, though, a remnant of the car crash I got into when we were desperately trying to make sure history played out correctly on First Earth.

The nasty slashes and almost shredded skin on my left calf are Aja's, from a time when she was walking on one of the high pathways through the Lifelight pyramid and fell through a rusted and ill cared for piece of flooring. She ended up stuck there for hours, before someone came, and that's why the scarring got so bad, despite the incredible technology of Veelox. But the gash that goes the full length of my lower right arm is something I got from the dream quig-bear while in one of my few jumps on Veelox.

And then there's Kasha's scar, and it's one of five of which I call 'death scars'. It's a mass of scar tissue on the back of my head. I don't like to think about that one, much, because I don't like to remember how Kasha died. The one that's mine from Eelong is something I like to think of even less, a gash on my lower back suffered in the fight for my freedom with the gar from the holding pens. I'm glad it's on my back, so that I don't have to see it and be reminded of that miserable time.

Then the next death scar, Loor's, from when Saint Dane stabbed her through the heart right before my eyes. Scratch not thinking about Kasha's scar- I don't like thinking about any of the death scars. The pain of that scar out weighs my own from Zadaa- a handful all over my body from the beating I suffered at that monster's hands. The most prominent is a scar on the left side of my face, that goes from my eye to my mouth, where the healers had to cut into my skin to reset my broken cheek bone.

There's the third death scar, this one belonging to Nevva. It crosses lengthwise over Loor's scar, straight through my heart, from when she was stabbed in the back by Saint Dane, right before her mother's and my eyes. My Quillan scars are on the inside of my hands- small jagged scars left when I struggled to keep my grip on the broken glass domes of the Tato platform in that fateful last battle between Challengers Red and Green.

In some ways, Siry's scars hurt me the most. But in others, I know that it is not my place to judge, Ibara is a different society, and that their ways are not my own. But I still don't like to think about the whip scars that now criss cross and curl over my back, and the things that Siry may have done to get them. My own scars from Ibara, the small slices across my forearms and the sides of my face from the glass that almost killed Loque, pale in comparison.

My own death scar, when held against all the others, is faint, and only a fading reminder of my failure on Second Earth. It's the scar across my throat that I got from the shattered windows of the falling helicopter.

Lastly, there's Patrick's death scar, the deep gash across my stomach from the car crash that killed him. The scar on my right arm is my own, suffered at the claws of a quig on Third Earth, before we knew how everything was starting to go wrong.

I know you're probably wondering why I'm describing all these different scars to you instead of just telling you something like, "guess what, guys! I've got, like, a million different scars now, and they aren't all mine!" But there's actually a reason.

You know how old people always say that they know when a storm's coming, because they can feel it in their old scars? Well, I don't know if that's true, but I do get indications about what's ahead from my scars, though I think it has more to do with the power of Solara, and how it influences me, more than anything about air pressure.

So the scars on the back of my neck tingle when a storm's coming, and Nevva's scar burns when I get snuck up on, while Spader's twitch near water, and Kasha's spasms when rocks are about to fall.

I'm not sure if the other's give any warnings about anything, because honestly I haven't experienced much since I got here. But the indications I do get have been useful so far.

However, giving indications of the weather and the surrounding earth isn't the only thing these new scars of mine do. Which actually brings me back to something I hadn't mentioned yet.

I said that the others were once again like the spirits they were. But that's not exactly true. They're actually a bit more like the ghosts we would hear about when we were kids. Mostly in that they can possess me.

Yeah. I said possess.

But don't get freaked out, because they can only do it when I call their names (which is actually kind of annoying, because it happens any time I say one of their names- I've had to start calling them by their territories in conversation to prevent it from happening all the time). I think this new possession ability of theirs is part of the reason why my body has changed- it's been remade so that there are parts of all of us in it, so that the transfer between… spirits, or souls, that it goes through when we switch isn't so jarring.

And the scars that were once theirs but are now mine are a connection between us, I think. Especially because whenever one of them takes over, their scar starts to bleed.

It's not like it starts gushing or flooding blood or anything, mostly it's just a trickle, but the wound doesn't close up until I'm once again back in my body. I think that in part the wounds continuously bled so that the others won't be tempted to stay in my body endlessly.

Which is good, because I'm not able to try and convince them to give it back over, as whenever the transfer happens, I end up unconscious.

Yeah, it's not very fun. But sometimes it's necessary, because the others have skills I don't have, and sometimes, in this place, we've had need of those skills.

Which of course brings me back to the subject of 'here'.

I bet you guys are dying to know how we got here, and why, and where here is, and everything, so I'll put you out of your misery. At least, I as much as I can, I will. Because honestly, once we get past the question of why the ten of us are here, I kind of run out of answers. So I guess it really is just like last time, with all of us fumbling along without really knowing what we're doing, but still trying to do the best we can.

Anyway, I know you're asking what happened to lead me to here, so I'll answer that, first.

I hate to tell you this, guys, but Saint Dane's back.


	2. Journal 1: 2 of 4

**Title: **The Ring of Power

**Category:** Pendragon and Lord of the Rings

**Pairing: **none, at the moment

**Rating: **T overall, but most chapters will be about PG-13 or so.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for all of the Pendragon series and probably most of the Lord of the Rings series as well. There might be violence in some parts, and it'll probably be somewhat graphic. I'll try to warn for it on a chapter basis, though.

**Summary: **_Pendragon and the rest of the Travelers thought that their job was done. They were wrong. The battle for Halla isn't over. After the events on Third Earth, the universe changed. It couldn't go back to the way it was, and so instead it expanded. There are more territories now than ever, and all of them are heading toward their turning points. In response, the Travelers have changed as well, and are headed for the first of the new territories, Middle Earth._

**Disclaimer: **I really don't own any of this. I wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes:** I have no idea what I'm doing, but it seems to be working out so far.

JOURNAL #1 CONT.

**MIDDLE EARTH**

Yeah. Let me say that again: Saint Dane's back.

Don't ask me how- I don't really understand it myself. All I know is that he's back, and he's causing trouble again, and it's our job to stop him. At least, that's what Uncle Press told us once all of us had entered Solara for what we thought would be the last time.

It was shortly after I'd said goodbye to you two. We traveled to Solara one by one, wondering what was ahead of us, and all of us almost certain that once we reached the land of our birth that we'd disappear.

That's not what happened. Obviously.

The others had headed out several minutes before I'd made what I thought at the time to be my final journey, but when I landed in Solara, it was clear that no time had passed between their arrival and mine. Time can be weird like that, as you know.

That wasn't what I'd expected. I'd expected that the instant I made the trip, I'd stop being Bobby Pendragon, and would become part of the larger collective of Halla… or something. Okay, I'll admit that in reality I had no clue as to what was gonna happen to us Travelers after we got to Solara, but I sure as hell hadn't expected it to be nothing.

Looking around, I saw that all of the others were there, not including Uncle Press. By the looks of confusion on the others faces, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't alone in my thoughts- obviously this wasn't what they had expected, either.

Elli was the first to speak. "Well, this certainly wasn't what I was thinking was going to happen."

Finally taking the chance to look around, I nodded in agreement. Our surroundings were different than I had expected them to be, as well. Solara looked a lot better than it had the first time around, but not nearly as good as it did when Kasha and I returned after the battle on Eelong. This time, however, I could see that the changes went through the entirety of the mysterious landscape, instead of just being localized.

"Weren't we supposed to, like, rejoin the spirits of Solara again?" Spader questioned, raising a hand to scratch at his head in puzzlement, "Because I gotta tell you, mates, I certainly don't feel like I've rejoined any spirit."

"I agree," Loor said, furrowing her eyebrows together as she shifted slightly, "This is not what we were told would happen."

"That's because when I told you those things, there were things I wasn't aware of," Uncle Press announced from behind me. I spun around to face him, and saw the others do the same from the corner of my eye.

"What do you mean?" Siry asked, eyes narrowed. It was in his nature to be suspicious of people, especially those in authority.

Uncle Press smiled and made a pacifying gesture with his hands. You know, hands out, palms up? Like that. It made me suspicious. He _never_ did things like that. I looked at him more closely and realized that while he looked calm enough on the surface, it didn't hold up. There was something going on here, and I had a feeling that whatever it was, I wasn't gonna like it.

"At the time that I told you about what would happen when you returned to Solara, I had yet to return here myself. I hadn't reestablished my connection to Solara and Halla. As such, all the information I had was based on conclusions I made about things that I could see. I wasn't able to see the whole picture," Uncle Press began, "And because of that, the information I gave to you was faulty."

"So… we're not going to return to being spirits?" Gunny asked. I could hear the faintest hint of hope in his voice, but only because it mirrored my own. None of us had been too excited about becoming a part of the collective or whatever, so to us, this was good news.

Uncle Press didn't see it that way. "Unfortunately, no."

"What do you mean, 'unfortunately'?" Kasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Yeah, isn't this good news?" I said.

Uncle Press shook his head. "It would be, if not for the reason for it," he said.

Uh oh. That didn't sound good. Despite my elation at the news that we wouldn't be losing our identities by assimilating into the Borg or whatever, I didn't think I'd like where this was going.

"We cannot return you to your previous forms because there is still need for you," Uncle Press's face was incredibly serious as he spoke.

That did _not_ sound good. I thought I knew what he was getting at now, and I was right; I didn't like it. By the mix of despairing and crestfallen looks on my friends faces, I was pretty sure they were thinking the same thing.

Aja was the first to voice it. "He's not gone, is he?"

"No," Uncle Press answered, and just like that, things pretty much fell apart.

"What?" Spader shouted at the same time Elli and Patrick let out cries of despair.

Aja's face shut down, her expression going blank, as it often did when she learned something that displeased her.

"This cannot be!" Alder and Loor exclaimed a second later, while a thunderous expression crossed Gunny's face.

Siry swore, Kasha growled, and I said, "But- but we saw him disappear!"

Uncle Press nodded. "Well all saw him disappear, Bobby," he said, "But while we thought that that meant that he was gone, it turns out that was not the truth. He had only grown too weak to maintain a physical presence. But he's not gone."

"How do you know this?" Patrick asked.

"When I returned to Solara, I was immediately reconnected with the spirits here," was his response, "They know all that goes on in Halla, and they informed me of the recent changes with in it."

"Changes?" Spader jumped on the new information, "What changes? I thought we were talking about Saint Dane."

"I presume the two topics are related," Aja told him, then turned her attention back to Uncle Press, who nodded in her direction.

"They are," he said, "When the Ravinians rebelled against Saint Dane, and we thought him to be destroyed, there was a sudden influx of energy back into Solara. Things… were changed." He paused.

We waited. Uncle Press remained silent. His eyes were unfocused, and he looked kind of far away, as if he was listening to something we couldn't hear.

"What kind of changes?" It was Aja who ran out of patience first. She was always eager for knowledge, and she didn't like having to wait for it.

Uncle Press's eyes focus again, and he smiles apologetically. "There are many more territories now," he said simply.

What.

My mind froze, and I'm pretty sure everyone else's did, too. Territories were something we were familiar with- they were the seven worlds on which intelligent life had evolved in the universe, but we had always been told there were only ten of them- seven worlds, with multiple times from two of them. How could there just suddenly be _more_?

"Did-" my voice cracked, "Did you say that there are more worlds?"

He nodded. "Solara had been deprived of energy for a long, long, time. When all that lost energy came rushing back, there was too much to handle. But the energy had to go somewhere. So it went out, into Halla, and everywhere it went it created more worlds, more times, more intelligent beings."

"How many are there?" interrupted Patrick. His eyes were wide and shinning.

"We don't know," Uncle Press shrugged.

Loor raised an eyebrow. "How can you not know?"

Uncle Press quirked a smile. "There are still more being created as we speak."

Well, didn't that just blow my mind. New worlds… new territories… it was almost inconceivable. But then again, wasn't pretty much everything I'd seen and done in the last four years?

It was at this point that someone finally remembered our original topic.

"Well, that's spiffy and all, but what does it have to do with Saint Dane?" Spader had a small frown on his face as he brought up the topic we all simultaneously dreaded and couldn't wait to find out about.

Uncle Press went serious again. "Ah," he said, "Yes. Saint Dane. As I have told you, despite what we had thought, he managed to survive his loss. At first, it did indeed seem like we were rid of him, as there was no sign of him anywhere in all the worlds. But then things started happening."

"Things started to go wrong," I concluded. Uncle Press nodded.

"Yes. On different worlds, things started to go awry. It was small at first, just little things here and there. I can only assume that in this way, Saint Dane was once again gathering his power, once again manipulating people so that they would make choices that were not in their best interests. At first, there was so much going on, what with the newly formed worlds, and these instances went largely unnoticed."

"But something happened," Siry scowled.

"On one of the new worlds, things have started to go drastically wrong. The world has fallen into chaos, and if nothing is done, it will almost certainly descend into ruin. By the time the spirits took notice, it was too late to stop it, but the situation did serve to prove that Saint Dane was not gone."

"Sounds like the typical work of the demon," Gunny said.

I agreed. The situation did sound exactly like something Saint Dane would cause. But there was one thing I didn't understand.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Uncle Press asked me.

"Why is he doing this? He already tried to prove that people would be better off if they could make their own decisions, but was defeated by the very people he tried to control. And he _knows_ that. What does trying it again accomplish?"

Uncle Press looked pained. "I don't know," he admitted, "Maybe he thinks that his loss was just a fluke? Or that mistakes were made that he can fix this time? I can't pretend to understand how he thinks anymore. But he is causing trouble. We know that much."

We all paused a moment to digest that.

"But what does this have to do with us?" Elli asked suddenly, speaking up for the first time in a while, surprising pretty much everyone.

"What do you mean?" Gunny asked her.

Elli frowned. "I mean, yes, Saint Dane is causing trouble. He always does. But what does that have to do with us? We already defeated him on our worlds. We've lost so much-" here her voice wavered, and I knew she was thinking about Nevva, "-and worked so hard. But we won. Our jobs are done now.

"So I repeat; what does this have to do with us?"

Uncle Press looked confused. "Saint Dane must be stopped…" he offered.

"Yes," Elli agreed, "But why must we be the ones to do it?"

"Are you saying that you no longer wish to fight against the demon?" Loor asked, and her entire being was stiff with tension. I knew that that meant that she was trying to restrain emotion.

Elli nodded. "You said that he was causing trouble on the new territories," she said to Uncle Press, who nodded, "Then why do we not let the travelers of these worlds take care of him?" she turned back to us.

"He can no longer set his sights directly on our territories," she said, "If he tries, the people will be ready for him, and they will not tolerate his attempts. As such, why must we continue to fight? We did all that was asked of us- and more. Surely we deserve rest now?"

The rest of us looked at each other, uncertain. I can't speak for the others, but I know that while I certainly didn't look forward to heading back into the fight, I couldn't stand by and let him cause trouble, either.

"The new territories do not have Travelers," Uncle Press said, and all our attention snapped back to him.

"There are far too many. Creating Travelers takes energy, and to try and create a Traveler for each new territory would only deplete the energy of Solara. We had to be selective, and only create Travelers on territories where we knew for certain Saint Dane to be.

"But there are far too few of them to stand up to Saint Dane on their own, and they are untrained and untested. They need help, or their territories will fall." He turned his gaze to Elli. "They need _your_ help."

Elli returned his gaze, and her eyes softened. "Maybe," she said, "But I am only an old woman, and I am tired. I do not think I have any help left to give." She looked sad and disheartened.

"Then you do not have to, Mother," a calm voice said from behind us.

That voice! I'm pretty sure we were all stunned into silence. I know I was.

That voice… I knew it. I turned around slowly, not certain if I was hoping or dreading for it to be who I thought it was.

It was.

Standing there, calm as could be- _alive_ as could be- was Nevva Winters.


	3. Journal 1: 3 of 4

PENDRAGON X LORD OF THE RINGS

**Title: **The Ring of Power

**Category:** Pendragon and Lord of the Rings

**Pairing: **none, at the moment

**Rating: **T overall, but most chapters will be about PG-13 or so.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for all of the Pendragon series and probably most of the Lord of the Rings series as well. There might be violence in some parts, and it'll probably be somewhat graphic. Nothing violent in this chapter, or anything that rates above a K warning.

**Summary: **_Pendragon and the rest of the Travelers thought that their job was done. They were wrong. The battle for Halla isn't over. After the events on Third Earth, the universe changed. It couldn't go back to the way it was, and so instead it expanded. There are more territories now than ever, and all of them are heading toward their turning points. In response, the Travelers have changed as well, and are headed for the first of the new territories, Middle Earth._

**Disclaimer: **I really don't own any of this. I wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes: **I'm pretty sure I'll be finished with journal one after the next part.

JOURNAL 1 CONT.

**MIDDLE EARTH**

I might have been frozen, but Elli sure wasn't.

About a second after Nevva showed up, Elli threw herself into her daughters arms with a loud cry. Nevva showed no hesitation when she hugged her mother back just as tightly. If it had been anyone else, I might have said that there was crying, but _come on_ this was Nevva Winters- she didn't cry. The tears I saw in her eyes were surely just my imagination.

The rest of us remained respectfully silent while the mother and daughter had their reunion, even though I was pretty sure everyone was burning with questions as badly as I was.

Finally, though, the two let up their death grip on each other. Elli drew back slightly and smiled up at her daughter. Her eyes searched her daughters face, even as they swelled with tears. "How?" she asked.

Nevva- silent, calm, dangerous, _stoic_ Nevva- smiled back. "I am unsure," she admitted, and I could see that behind her façade she was confused, "When I… died… I was sure that that was the end for me. I had forsake the Light of Solara for the darker side, and then I had betrayed that. I no longer had ties to any higher power, and so I thought that with my death my existence would cease. It did not."

Obviously.

Elli hugged her daughter again, and Nevva hugged back. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're back," she said.

Actually, I was kind of curious about what had happened. And I was pretty sure I knew someone who would have the answers. I turned to Uncle Press, who was watching the scene with a smile. "Anything you know about this?" I asked him.

"While Nevva Winters did leave behind the power of the Light Solara when she joined forces with Saint Dane, it's power did not forsake her," he began, and everyone turned their attention back to him. "It is in the nature of people to make mistakes, and despite their origins, the Travelers are people.

"When Nevva decided to go against Saint Dane, her connection to his version of Solara was cut off, but with that loss the original connection was able to reform. When Saint Dane killed Nevva, her spirit was returned to Solara, and her body was reformed."

Wow. That was… kind of heavy stuff. It was good, though. I had always regretted that Nevva had died right after she'd once again found her way. I looked around to see how everyone was reacting.

Alder, Loor, Siry, Spader and Kasha looked rather blank, so I could tell that they didn't really understand what Uncle Press was saying.

Gunny, Aja, and Patrick looked like they understood. They probably did- those three were a lot smarter than the rest of us.

Elli just looked thankful, and I knew she didn't really care about the hows or whys. All she cared about was that her daughter was back with her. Nevva looked a bit overwhelmed, though when she noticed I was looking she quickly hid it.

Then I remembered something.

"What do you mean, 'you don't have too'?" I asked Nevva, causing everyone to shift their attention to me.

"What?" Alder questioned.

"The first thing Nevva said. She said 'then you don't have too,' to Elli. What did you mean?" was my response.

Everyone looked at Nevva.

She shifted a bit before she answered, and I wondered if she was nervous. "I did say that," she said. "What I meant was, if my mother no longer wishes to be a Traveler, then she does not need to."

"But we still need her!" Siry burst out.

Nevva glared at him for interrupting her. "If my mother does not wish to fight, then she doesn't have too. I will take her place."

Um.

What?

Talk about shocking news. I'm pretty sure we all kind of simultaneously gasped.

Elli was the first to speak. "Daughter," she said, "You don't have to-"

"I _want _to," Nevva interrupted, and Elli stopped speaking.

She turned to look at us. "I made a mistake," she admitted, "And by my actions, people suffered. People _died_. While I might have changed sides, I have not made amends." Nevva raised her hands to stall our protests, so we shut our mouths. "I think I know what you're going to say; that I made up for it at the end, and that if not for me, we would not have been able to overcome Saint Dane." She paused.

"But if not for me, he would have never been able to get so far in the first place." She turned to her mother. "Let me do this," she pleaded, "I want to help. I want to do something _good_. And I want to help you."

Elli was silent for a moment, and I wondered what she was thinking. If Elli left, that wouldn't be good for Team Traveler. Having Nevva take her place sounded like a good idea, but there were problems with it. For one thing, we didn't really _know_ Nevva. I knew her the best, next to Elli, and I barely knew her at all. Also, as much as her pre-dying actions might of made up for it, Nevva had at one point joined with Saint Dane. The big question was, could we trust her? In the end, though, the decision was up to Elli. If Elli wanted to retire from Traveler duty, we would need a replacement for her.

Finally, Elli spoke. "If this is what you want, then I will gladly accept your offer."

Nevva let out a relieved sigh and smiled at her mother. The older woman smiled back.

The second Traveler from Quillan then turned back to us. "That is, of course, if you will have me?"

Oh, she was asking us now? I was actually kind of surprised. I shared a glance with the others, and saw that we were all pretty much on the same page. I looked back at Nevva.

"Yeah, sure," I shrugged, "We'll probably need all the help we can get."

Nevva looked the spitting image of her mother when she smiled, I realized.

There was sort of an awkward silence for a moment before Uncle Press broke it.

"Is there anyone else with objections to returning to the fight against Saint Dane?" he asked, looking around at all of us.

We all provided negative responses to his question, whether verbally or by shaking our heads. In return, he gave us a pleased smile and nodded.

"Good," he said, "Then I will tell you a little more about the territory where Saint Dane has started causing the most trouble. But first, why don't we all take a seat and relax a bit?" His smile turned mischievous.

"Huh?" I said, giving my not-Uncle and odd look. I was echoed by Spader and Gunny.

"Take a seat?" Loor asked.

"Where?" was Kasha's question.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Press, but there's no place to sit," said Aja.

Uncle Press smirked. "Why don't you look behind you?"

We all spun around. There, where there definitely hadn't been anything before, was a large table and several chairs- twelve, to be exact, one for each of us.

Siry let out a shocked noise, and Nevva gasped.

I said, rather stupidly, "Wha-?"

"How-?" Patrick squeaked.

"Did you forget that Solara isn't a real, physical place?" Uncle Press asked us as he walked towards the table and pulled out one of the chairs, "It is an interpretation unique to each of you. I simply implanted the suggestion of seats in your minds, and you did the rest." He settled into the chair and gestured for us to join him.

Slowly, we did. Before I sat down, I subtly test the chair to try and make sure it wouldn't disappear on me. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one.

"So… about this new territory we're gonna be saving…" I prompted once we were all settle in.

Uncle Press nodded to me and swept his gaze around the table. "The territory you will be going to is called Middle Earth. It is not, however, and Earth territory, such as First, Second, or Third Earth was. The names just happen to be the same.

"There isn't much I can tell you about the place, as there really isn't all that much I know about it. As I've said before, it's a new territory, but even considering how little meaning time has to ones such as us, I have only had a chance to learn a bit about it. Most of the things that are unique to this territory you will have to learn on your own.

"One piece of good news, however, is that you will no longer need to search out and find flumes to travel through."

"You mean we got our powers back?" Spader interrupted excitedly.

Uncle Press smiled at him. "You did. The powers that are your rights as spirits of Solara have been returned to you. You'll have all the abilities that you gained upon reaching Solara the first time. As well as a few extra. But you must understand," once more, he glanced around the table, "It is as important as ever that you don't waste them. With Saint Dane's meddling, Solara is once again weak. The situation isn't as bad as it was towards the end of the fight, but it is much like it was towards the beginning. Using you powers unnecessarily will only cause problems in the long run."

As I listened to Uncle Press talk, I realized that there was something that was bothering me. It had been for a while, but it was faint, and I didn't yet know what it was. Hopefully, the answer would come to me in a little bit.

"Middle Earth is a world slightly different from all the others you've traveled to. Most of the worlds you've been on, with the exception of Eelong," he nodded to Kasha, "have had only one intelligent species. On Middle Earth, however, there are quite a few. I can't tell you about each of them, as there are far too many, so you'll have to learn that as you go."

Finally, I realized what had been bothering me. "What do you mean, 'you'?" I blurted out.

Uncle Press looked at me, and I know he that he knew what I meant. "I won't be going with you," he said.

There were loud gasps all around the table, but I didn't notice. "Why not?"

"There is too much going on here that I need to be involved in," was his response, "Besides," he smiled, "I know that all of you will be just fine on your own. You've already proven that you don't need my help to get things done."

"But-" I started. Then I stopped. Uncle Press was right. Like always. I didn't know what kind of stuff was happening in Solara that needed his attention, but I did know that we would be able to deal with whatever was happening outside of it. We had proven that. "Promise you'll be there if we need help, at least?" I finally asked.

He grinned. "Of course." He turned back to address the entire table. "I told you pretty much all I know about Middle Earth," he said, "But there is one more thing. There is a Traveler from the territory, and it would be good for you to find him. Much like yourselves, he has spent much time on his territory, and he'll be able to tell you things about the world that I can't. He'll probably even be able to tell you what it is you'll need to do." He fell silent.

There was a pause where we all looked at each other in confusion, then, "So… that's all?" Patrick asked, "Do we just… go now?"

"Well, what good would sticking around here, do?" was Uncle Press's logical response.

With that, we all stood up and left the table. As we walked away from it, I kept glancing back to see if it would disappear at some point. It didn't.

Aja was the first to leave this time.

"So… we just think 'Middle Earth', and take a Step, right?" she asked Uncle Press. He nodded, and so the Traveler from Veelox took a Step and disappeared.

Loor was next. "Do not keep us waiting," she said, and then she was gone.

Spader gave his usual "Hobey-Ho!" and a wink as he left.

"It was nice to work with you, Mrs. Winters," Gunny said kindly to Elli. She gave him an answering smile, and he Stepped off into the next territory as well.

Patrick gave a quick wave before he disappeared, and Kasha padded after him without a word. Nevva gave her mother one last hug, and then she was gone too.

Siry looked at me and said, "See you there," and Stepped out. Alder followed him in silence.

Now it was my turn. I took a deep breath, then faced Uncle Press and Elli.

"And so we go," I said, and gave them a slightly strained smile.

"Oh, and one more thing-" Uncle Press began, right after I'd started the step that would take me to Middle Earth, "When you get there, you might find that things- and even you- are a little different than how you remember them. Don't worry, though- all changes are the way things are meant to be."

Before I could ask him what he meant by _that_, I competed my Step and was gone.


	4. Journal 1: 4 of 4

**Title: **The Ring of Power

**Category:** Pendragon and Lord of the Rings

**Pairing: **none, at the moment

**Rating: **T overall, but most chapters will be about PG-13 or so.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for all of the Pendragon series and probably most of the Lord of the Rings series as well. This section has some squicky material. I'd go with a T warning.

**Summary: **_Pendragon and the rest of the Travelers thought that their job was done. They were wrong. The battle for Halla isn't over. After the events on Third Earth, the universe changed. It couldn't go back to the way it was, and so instead it expanded. There are more territories now than ever, and all of them are heading toward their turning points. In response, the Travelers have changed as well, and are headed for the first of the new territories, Middle-earth._

**Disclaimer: **I really don't own any of this. I wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes: **And so ends the first journal.

JOURNAL 1 CONT.

**MIDDLE-EARTH**

And so ends the explanation of how we managed to get to where we are now.

After we got here, I figured out pretty quickly what it was that Uncle Press was talking about- all the changes that I described to you in the first part of this journal.

At first, as your probably not surprised, everyone freaked out. We didn't understand what was going on, or why things had changed. Especially, why they had changed in the way they did. We still can't figure it out, actually, though we've had some time to think about it.

A lot of time, actually. Around here, there really isn't much to do but think and talk, and that's exactly what we did.

At first, quite a few of us wanted to go back to Solara and question Uncle Press about what was going on, myself included, but Nevva managed to talk us out of it. She said that we can't be wasting the power of Solara like that, especially as we don't know what's going to happen on this world, and how much power we might need later on. Also, if we started to go to Solara whenever we didn't understand something, we'd never stop, and in no time at all Solara would be drained. We had to save trips for when we really needed something.

She also said that if things had changed like this, and Uncle Press already knew about it, then there had to be a reason, one which we'd probably learn later on. Eventually we managed to agree that the Traveler from Quillan was right.

We talked about what the changed might mean, and how we would deal with them, and though we didn't come to any over all epiphanies, we did come to a few decisions:

One; there isn't really anything we can do about the changes, so we're just going to have to deal with them. Hopefully, when our job here is done, we'll be able to go back to how we we're before. So we're just going to have to except the changes as they come, and deal with them as best we can.

Two; since I seem to be the default soul (or spirit) for my (or maybe I should say 'our' or 'the'?) body, I would spend the most time in it. But everyone would be able to get some time to use it, to walk around and stretch their legs, so to say. But not for too long, because, as I mentioned before, when anyone but me used the body, their corresponding wound would start bleeding. It wouldn't gush blood, or anything, and there didn't seem to be too much of a danger of dying of blood loss (or any other way, for that matter, but more on that later), but it was still kind of worrying.

And three; we can't keep secrets from each other, no matter how small they might seem. I know that sounds kind of weird, and like it doesn't have anything to do with the topic of the body we now share, but it does. When we battled Saint Dane the first time, we all (with the exception of Nevva, in some ways) became very close. Now we're even closer. Literally and metaphorically. If we tried to keep secrets from each other now, for one thing, it's doubtful it'd be possible, and for another, it would only end up backfiring on us.

Those decisions made, and one problem tackled, we came to our next one.

Where the hell did we arrive? And why are we here?

Because I really don't see what the reasoning is behind sending us Travelers to a freakin' cavern.

Yeah, a cavern.

Or, well, something like that. I'm not too sure what it is, exactly- I was never too good at geology or even science. Also, I'm pretty sure that the tunnels and 'rooms' we've encountered are not a byproduct of nature. There are way too many clean lines and carefully constructed… things… for that.

But where ever we are, where ever we landed, we are _surrounded_ by rock.

I'm thinking that it has to be some kind of underground thing, though for all I know it could be inside a mountain. All I know is, it's incredibly dark here, there is rock everywhere, and there is no way out.

At least, not that any of us can find. When we first got here, we tried for a bit to find an exit, hoping that wherever we'd landed was like some of the hiding places for the flumes, and that somewhere there would be an opening to the world of Middle-earth.

No such luck.

We searched for a long time, and all we managed to do was find out that wherever we are, it goes on for _miles_.

And remember how I mentioned that it's dark? Well, that's kind of an understatement. There's like, no light at all. That's part of the reason this journal is undoubtedly messy- I have to write it in the dark, hoping that I'm writing things in a straight line, and not on top of things I've already written. Sorry about that, guys.

Also, without light, it's kind of hard to tell how long we've been down here. I've taken to measuring time by periods between sleep, or Sleeps as I call them. It's hardly accurate, but without the sun there's nothing else I can do.

After our discovery of no immediate way out, we decided that it would probably be best for us to stay where we'd arrived- the spirits of Solara must have sent us to this place for a reason, even if they didn't seem to get the timing exactly right. So someone always stays in the cavern where we arrived whenever we all go off to explore, because all the surroundings are similar, made even more so by the dark, and it's rather easy to get lost.

As if all of this wasn't bad enough, wherever we are, we're not alone. I mentioned before the things that reside here- I don't know what they are, exactly, but they seem to be much more accustomed to the darkness than I am. They don't seem to have found the cavern where we stay, but sometimes we'll run into them when we go out into the caves.

Often, when we come across them (or they come across me) they attack, and I either have to try and fend them off or run away. Sometimes I have to let Alder, Loor or Kasha have control so they can deal with them, when they get too close to our cavern. When they let me back out, I usually search the things to see if they might have anything useful- so far I've had no luck, but the material I'm writing this on is the cloth they wore, and the ink I use is their blood. It's disgusting, I know, and just thinking about it gives me shivers, but the urge to write out what's going on is overwhelming, and I needed to do something to keep from going insane. Talking to the others only gets me so far.

The things that are out there seem to be like animals, but not. They have weapons, I think, but they don't seem to be civilized or have any kind of language. Even if they do, there's nothing I can do about it, as they seem to be the attack first ask questions never type.

In the time that I've been down here, I found out a few interesting things. For one thing, I no longer seem to need to eat. Which is a good thing, because the only thing to eat that I could find down here were the things that live here as well. And I have to admit, before I learned that I didn't need to eat, the hunger made me so desperate that I tried. It was a bad idea. I was sick for a long time after- I have no idea how long, as all I remember is horrid dreams and hallucinations.

I haven't had a chance to discover if this body is able to go without water, as well, as shortly after our arrival here, Spader managed to find a small stream. We were hesitant to drink from it, at first, but after several sleeps the thirst got so bad that I had to try it. Luckily, despite all we've heard about contaminated water and the dangers of drinking water without knowing it's source, somehow things seem to have turned out all right. The water tastes disgusting, obviously, but it hasn't managed to kill me yet, and drinking a lot of it seems to make the hunger pains slightly more bearable.

After that, time passed.

A lot of time. An _incredibly _long time. I lost track of how many Sleeps it had been since we arrived.

Most of my time was spent talking about anything and everything with the others, or just wandering around inside the caves (I got pretty good at not running into things and walking quietly, as both were good ways to avoid running into the things that lived here). I think that during this time I might have started to go just a little bit crazy. Waiting for something to happen when you don't know what it is or how long a wait it will be will do that to you, I guess.

I was beginning to think that maybe we were wrong, that there was not, in fact, a reason that we were sent to this place, and that we were supposed to find our way out of this underground maze, when something happened.

It was many Sleeps after we first arrived; I was sitting in the cave where we'd first arrived. Loor, Alder, Patrick, Siry, Aja and Nevva were with me, but Spader, Gunny, and Kasha were out exploring more of the caves. I was working on the beginning of this journal when I heard a sound. At first, it was so faint that I thought I was imagining it, that being all alone in the dark like this for so long had finally made me grow crazy. But soon enough the sound grew louder, and I realized that I what I was hearing was familiar.

It was the sound of people.

Real, live people.

"What is that sound?" Loor asked, and I knew that she was hearing the same thing. The others looked at her in confusion, as their hearing wasn't as good as hers, but Alder nodded. Spader, Gunny, and Kasha weren't back yet, so it was just the seven of us at the moment. Or, well, me and six ghosts.

"It's people," I said, smiling, "Walking and talking." Finally, something was happening!

Alder's brow furrowed. "Should we hide?" he questioned.

I shook my head. "These people might be the reason that we were placed here." The sounds had grown loud enough by now that all of us could hear them. I could tell that there were several people talking to each other, but they weren't close enough that I could tell what they were saying yet.

"But what if they're not?" Siry asked, frowning. "Maybe we should observe them before we meet them."

Aja nodded, crossing her arms and frowning herself. "I agree. These people could very well be why we are here, but they could also be someone who we would not wish to meet. Or they could be more of the monsters. We should be cautious." Monsters were what we'd taken to calling the things, for that was what they acted like.

"I don't think it's the monsters," Patrick offered, "The monsters never had conversations. But still, it might be best to be cautious. If they are the reason we're here, we can always reveal ourselves to them."

They were right. It would be best to make sure these people were friendly before they knew that we were there. I'd almost let my excitement at the prospect of finally meeting real people and leaving these caves get the best of me.

By now the sounds were close enough that I had to scramble to find a good hiding place. The others quickly made themselves scarce as well, though it was highly unlikely that they'd be seen anyway. The monsters hadn't been able to see them, so whoever or whatever was coming now probably wouldn't be able to, either, but it never hurt to be on the safe side of things.

I had just managed to settle in to my chosen hiding space (a niche in the wall that I could just fit in that couldn't be seen from the direction the noises were coming in. Actually, it probably wasn't the best choice, as I was precariously placed, and if I didn't concentrate I'd probably tumble right out) when the noises drew close enough that I could make out individual voices, if not conversation.

"This is the way, I am certain," I heard an old, gruff voice proclaim. It sounded frustrated, though I couldn't tell why.

And then the people rounded the corner and I realized our mistake.

We'd decided that it would be best to wait before showing ourselves to these people, but we hadn't counted on one thing. We'd been down here in the dark for so long that we'd forgotten about it.

Light.

The instant they entered the cavern, the light they carried touched my eyes, and I felt them burn. Squeezing my eyes shut hard, I let out an involuntary cry, raised my hands to my face, and tumbled from the crack in the wall to land at the feet of those who had just entered the cave.

I heard their exclamations of surprise, as well as the voices of my friends crying out in concern, before the light became too much and I slipped into a blissful darkness.

END OF JOURNAL 1


End file.
